


Fire Thorn

by lea_hazel



Category: Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Aristocracy, Arranged Marriage, Backstory, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon Backstory, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Murder, Sorry Not Sorry, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, Vail Isle, Week four spoilers, extremely likely to be contradicted by future canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-14 12:43:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14136279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/pseuds/lea_hazel
Summary: You must be a level four frenemy to unlock Claude's tragic backstory.References unsavory elements in the canonical Revaire background backstory.





	Fire Thorn

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted from Tumblr. 
> 
> This work was created before Kade's romance was released or even written. I take full responsibility for the 100% likelihood of it being contradicted by future canon.

“The missing horse. The rosethorn. An accident, here.”

Kade’s face was as impassive as ever.

“And a letter, forged by your hand,” said Claude, “framing the Princess for the whole thing.”

“You’ll have to speak up, Claude,” said Kade. “And, might I remind you, there are at least half-a-dozen princesses in the castle at the moment. Could you be more specific?”

He scowled. “I don’t remember giving you leave to use that name.”

“Oh?” said Kade, raising one eyebrow. “Would you rather I call you by your  _other_  name?”

Claude said nothing. Of course he wouldn’t prefer that. The isle native, as smugly infuriating as he was, was one of only ten or so people in the world who deigned to refer to him by his chosen name. Even his friends in the capital would most often refer to him as ’ _Lady Claude_ ’ and make a great joke of it. They were tolerant of his eccentricities in a way that no one else ever had been, but they would never think of him as a man.

“Claude?” said Kade. “Focus.”

“Princess Gisette,” said Claude. “She tried to kill me. Well, she had her man do it, I think. What was his name? Lee?”

Kade slow clapped. “Well done,  _Lord Claude_.”

“I’m not a lord,” he said. “Whatever else I may be, I can’t ever be that.”

“Did you not inherit  _that man’s_  estate?” asked Kade acidly. “Isn’t that how you came by your fabulous wealth?”

Claude shrugged one shoulder. “A widow’s pension, and the townhouse. The estate reverted to the Crown. There’s no Baron Namaire in Revaire anymore.”

“But you are a gentleman,” said Kade, not bothering to make it a question. “You’ve never worked for a living, have you?”

If what he’d done for his living could be termed work, he would have to call himself a whore. Claude wasn’t prepared to do that. Certainly not when there were so many other charming people willing to do it for him. He felt a flare of anger at Kade’s presumptuousness, and tamped it down. There was no time to lose his temper. If he could do one good thing on this God-forsaken island, then this week he would do it. To say nothing of finally solving the mystery behind Gisette’s machinations.

“Is that why you resent me?” he asked, producing a thin, ironic smile for Kade’s benefit. “Because I don’t need to work for a living?”

Kade took two long steps towards him, and his eyes bored into Claude’s when he said, quietly, “I told you once before that I wouldn’t bow and scrape for you, no matter how much of a tragic little porcelain doll you think you are.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I said it,” hissed Kade. “You think you’re the most poor, put upon and tragic little boy in all the kingdoms, don’t you? Because your parents forced you to marry young and then you had to live in appalling wealth and ruinous luxury. It  _breaks_  my  _heart_.” Every word was dripping with venom.

“No,” said Claude, “because I had to  _whore_  myself out to keep my father out of debtor’s prison, because he drank and gambled away mine and my sisters’ future.” Apparently he  _could_  say it. “And because if I hadn’t done it, then my little sister Emmaline, who’s barely sixteen, would have had to do it in my stead.”

That was not strictly true. It had been Nissa who the Baron had initially been after, and Claude had done all he could to dissuade their father from agreeing. The only way he could get Nissa to agree to it, was by promising that he would tell her if things became unbearable. And they would deal with the matter together. Which they had.

But Kade really didn’t need to know any of that, and Claude didn’t truly want his pity, anyway.

“I’m not interested in your pity,” he said into the silence between them. “If you care so much about the people who have suffered worse than I have, then  _help me save Imogen_. Otherwise, you’re not being noble, just stubborn and contrary.”  _Like usual_ , he added to himself.

The silence stretched between them long enough that Claude considered turning around and going back where he came from. Except he knew that he had no hope of solving the mystery on his own, not with the way the mysteries on the isle were built, wheels within wheels, stacked centuries deep. And Imogen was depending on him.

“The murder weapon is still hidden in Lee’s room,” said Kade abruptly. “Now leave.”

And he turned his back on him and stalked to the very edge of the cliff, both hands clasped behind his back.

Claude stared at his retreating back for a few breaths, a little dazed still. Then he shook his head and turned back towards the castle. Kade wouldn’t be revealing his mysteries anytime soon, certainly not to a simple delegate like him. And besides, he had work to do.


End file.
